Play and Learn 2

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Play and Learn 2 / 19941.ZIP / 19941 / EDUCNOMY / STARMAP / MAPDOC.DOC < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1994-02-04 | 24.6 KB | 896 lines

PC STARMAP COPYRIGHT 1986 MICHAEL CALIGIURI for MDC SOFTWARE ____________________________________________ ATTENTION SHAREWARE USERS A Note to shareware users: This product was created for the purpose of educating the beginning astronomer and casual star-gazer to many of the common constellations which mark our night skies. If you find the program educational, consider mailing a check to the author for an amount commensurate with the value you received from using PC STARMAP. CAVEAT The author assumes no responsibility for "damages" that may occur as a result of a star, as plotted by PC STARMAP, being incorrectly positioned. ____________________________________________ 1. SPECIFICATIONS a. Requirements: PC Starmap runs on all IBM PC,XT,AT and compatible machines. A color graphics card is required. PC Starmap requires a minimum of 128 Kbytes of memory in order to load your BASIC interpreter and individual programs. ____________________________________________ b. The Programs: PC Starmap consists of 39 individual programs or maps. The programs are written in basic. Star maps are called by one of three main programs: (1) the main starmap program which permits display of 48 maps; (2) the test program which displays a map at random (1/83 chance of displaying the same month twice) for the user to test his skill as identifying month and direction; and (3) a program which calls star maps displaying individual constellations as seen throughout the year. Note: All maps represent the night sky of the northern hemisphere on the 1st and 16th day of the respective month between 9:00 and 10:00 Eastern time zone. ____________________________________________ * IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corp. ____________________________________________ c. Using Starmap: PC Starmap was designed primarily as an educational program to teach the relative locations of over 30 constellations as viewed from North America throughout the year. The user may wish to spend time with the main program (Option 1, see below) which displays individual maps corresponding to a given month and a given direction (i.e. North, South, East, or West). These maps permit familiarization of the night sky with or without labels. Once familiar, the user may want to test his skill (Option 2). PC Starmap Option 2 will display a night sky without labels and without indicating the month or direction. The program awaits entry of the user's guess of the month and direction. Immediate feedback is provided. As a supplemental learning aid, PC Starmap Option 3 displays isolated constellations as they may be viewed throughout the year. Constellations are shown in their relative positions in the sky along with the month and direction. These maps provide a quick inspection of popular constellations to serve as simple landmarks. With these landmarks the learning the night sky will be rapidly facilitated. ____________________________________________ 2. OPERATIONS a. Preparing the program disk: (1) Make a back-up of the program disk. Copy the entire disk onto a system formatted disk (this will generate a bootable copy of PC Starmap). Once a back-up is made, place the original disk in a safe place and use the back-up. (2) If using a floppy drive, copy your BASIC interpreter along with the programs contained on this disk (*.BAS) onto a single diskette. (3) If you are using a hard disk drive, load the programs contained on this disk (*.BAS) along with your BASIC interpreter into a directory. (4) To run the program enter the following from the DOS prompt: BASIC STARMAP (5) If you are using a PC,XT or other 8088 machine or if you are using a floppy disk drive, running PC STARMAP from the RAM disk will greatly improve speed and performance. Create a RAM disk and copy all files and BASIC interpreter onto the RAM disk. Run program as above. ____________________________________________ b. Option 1 - Main starmaps: Select Option 1 when the program displays the main menu. This will transfer you to the month selection menu where you enter any month of the year. Enter the first three letters of the month, using either capital or lower case characters. Once entered, the program will ask you to enter the direction you wish to view. Enter either N, S, E, or W. If you follow this directional key with an 'N'(e.g. NN), labels will be omitted. Otherwise, constellation names will appear. These labels are not displayed immediately, Rather, they appear about 20 seconds after the stars are displayed. This allows for some time to try to name them, or to view the sky without labels. When a prompt ('?') appears in the lower left corner, press carriage return(CR). If X is selected as the directional key, the program transfers to the main star map menu where another month may be entered. Instead of entering a month, the user may want to return to the main menu and to another program Option. To do this, type 'END' instead of a month. ____________________________________________ c. Option 2 - Test maps: These programs were written to challenge the novice star-gazer by displaying a star map with no prior indication as to the corresponding month or direction. The user first enters a number from 1 to 1000. This accesses a randomization scheme and selects one of 12 star maps depending on the randomization. Once selected, the program prompts the user to enter a number from 1 to 4. This accesses the map of a particular direction. Constellations will then be displayed and you will be prompted to enter the month and direction. Enter month and direction using the following format: MMM NORTH, MMM SOUTH, etc. Subsequent selection of maps using directional numbers (1-4) reduce the difficulty since the month is already known. For more difficult challenges, switch out of the month by entering 0 and begin the cycle with a different month. Constellation labels are not shown. If these "test-maps" are too difficult, try returning to the main menu and select Option 3. As indicated below, Option 3 provides useful "constants" which help the novice star-gazer identify the time of year and/or direction with minimal information. ____________________________________________ d. Option 3 - Quick maps: Option 3 of PC Starmap displays stars as their positions in the sky change throughout the year. In the night sky, particular constellations are re-postioned in accordance with the calendar. In PC Starmap, repositioning occurs over a period of 12 months within the same sky (as with Ursa Maj. and Ursa Min. in the North sky). Seven constellations or groups of constellations may be accessed. These were selected to best represent the influence of earths rotation throughout the year. As a learning aid, this Option teaches the use of several landmarks which may be used as simple references to evaluate a more complex sky. The following are a few examples: a) Ursa Major appears to rotate counter clock-wise in the northern sky. b) Ursa Minor also "rotates" with the north star remaining relatively fixed all year. c) The brightest star in the sky, Vega, appears to move from East to West from May to November To select any of these quick-maps, simply enter the number corresponding to the constellation groups. ____________________________________________ 1. MYTHOLOGY On the following pages, the mythology associated with each constellation is presented. A line-drawing of the constellation is shown on each page. Use this schematic to help "visualize" the constellations. The constellations are described in alphabetical order. Technical data, such as distance in light years from the Sun, area of the constellation in square degrees, and visual magnitude of the brightest star of the constellation are provided at the end of this chapter. 1. Andromeda Princes of Ethiopia Oracles of the time told Cepheus that the only way to rid the country of the sea monster (Cetus) was to expose his daughter, Andromeda, to be devoured by the monster. He ordered Andromeda chained to rocks. Perseus, the son of Jupiter rescued her and claimed her as a reward for slaying Medusa. 2. Aquarius The Water Bearer 3. Aquila The Eagle Aquila represents the eagle of Jupiter which was Jupiter's disguise. Jupiter needed a new cup-bearer when Hebe retired, so he disguised himself and swooped down to earth taking Ganymede to Olympus. 4. Aries The Ram The ram of the golden fleece, Aries, was much sought after. King Athames, growing tired of his wife Nephele, put her aside so he may choose another. Nephele, fearing the king would harm their children sent them far away. Mercury was said to have assisted her by giving her a golden ram upon which to carry the children. The ram would carry them to a safe place. All was going according to plan until the ram crossed over a narrow strait between Europe and Asia. At this point one child, the girl, fell off into the sea. Today, this point in the strait is known as Hellesport. 5. Auriga The Charioteer Representative of Erichthonius, a king of Athens who invented the four-horse chariot. 6. Bootes The Bear Driver The inventor of the ox-plow 7. Cancer The Crab During a fight with Hydra, Hercules was bitten by a crab. Juno, an enemy of Hercules rewarded the crab by placing it in the heavens. 8. Canis Major The Great Dog 9. Capricornus The Sea Goat This constellation is not visible from the northern hemisphere. 10. Cassiopeia Queen of Ethiopia Cassiopeia was a beautiful but vain queen. She boasted to be more beautiful than even the sea nymphs. When word got to the maidens, they became so upset that they persuaded the ruler of the waters to send a sea monster (Cetus) to destroy the coast of the country as punishment for Cassiopeia's vanity. The story continues with Cephus. 11. Cepheus King of Ethiopia Cephus went to an oracle to seek advice on how to rid the country of the sea monster (Cetus). The oracle's solution involved Andromeda, the princess of Ethiopia (see above). 12. Cetus The Sea Monster (Whale) Cetus was believed to have killed the princess Andromeda. 13. Coma Berenices Berenice's Hair When Berenice was queen of Egypt, she made a vow to cut off her hair and place it in the temple of Venus providing that her husband, Ptolemy Euergetes, would return safely from war. He returned and she kept her pledge. But shortly thereafter, the tresses disappeared from the alter. Conon, the court astronomer took the royal couple out one night and pointed to the sky where the lock of hir was placed, thus preventing disaster. He stated that the gods were so pleased with Berenice's gift to Venus that they placed it forever in the sky. 14. Corona Borealis The Northern Crown This circlet of stars marks Ariadne's crown. Ariadne was the daughter of Minos, the king of Crete. Minos kept a monster - half man half bull, known as Minotaur, in a labyrinth. Once a year, seven youths and seven maidens would be sacraficed to the monster as a tribute to Minos. One year, Theseus volunteered to be thrown to the monster in hopes of slaying it. Ariadne, upon seeing Theseus, fell in love with him. She gave him a sword and a skein of thread to unwind and use to make his way out of the labyrinth. Theseus slew the monster and escaped with his companions, taking Ariadne with him. Soon, Theseus abandoned Ariadne for another. This upset Ariadne so much that she exiled herself to the island of Naxos. Venus consoled her with the promise that she would have an immortal lover. Bacchus was this lover who gave her a crown, set with gems. When Ariadne died, Bacchus placed the crown in the heavens. 15. Cygnus The Northern Cross (The Swan) Once there lived a boy named Phaethon. Phaethon did not know who his father was until one day he asked his mother. She told him of a sun-god named Helios. Phaethon sought after Helios and upon finding him was granted anything he wanted. Phaethon wanted to drive the chariot of the sun for one journey. Helios discouraged this, but to no avail. At first, the journey was not difficult, but soon the horses realized that Phatheon was an inexperienced driver and they ran wild. Plummenting too close to earth, fires broke out forming great parched deserts. The world was in great danger until Jupiter launched a thunderbolt toward Phaethon, striking him and sending him off the chariot. Phaethon fell into the river Eridanus. His friend, Cygnus, looked everywhere along the river for him, even diving into the river and swimming with his head under water. At last, the gods took pity on him and changed him into a swan. 16. Draco The Dragon The dragon, charged with guarding the Golden Fleece, was killed by Hercules. 17. Gemini The Twins Twin brothers named Castor and Pollux. They were sons of the king and queen of Sparta. Legend has it that Pollux was immortal while Castor was not. When Castor died, Pollux asked the gods to share his immortality with his brother. Thus, both were given immortality in the heavens. 18. Hercules Hercules A prodigiously strong giant who was given twelve labors by Eurystheus as a mark of Juno's hostility toward the infant Hercules. The most noteworthy of the labors were: slaying the lion which roamed Nemea; slaughter Hydra, the serpent which guarded the well of Amymone; cleansing of the stables of king Augeas of Eks (where 3,000 oxen lived and had not been cleaned for 30 years); bring back the jeweled belt of Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons; bring back the three-bodied oxen of Geryon. 19. Hydra The Water Serpent One of the labors of Hercules was to slaughter the many-headed water serpent which guarded the well of Amymone. 20. Leo The Lion When Hercules was an infant, he strangled two serpents sent by Juno to kill him. This only enraged Juno, who ensalved Hercules to serve Eurystheus who gave him 12 labors to perform. The first was to kill a lion which roamed the valley of Nemen. When all weapons failed, Hercules stranged the lion with his bare hands. The lion is immortalized in the constellation of Leo. 21. Libra The Scales At one time, this constellation represented the claws of the scorpion (Scorpius). Libra was considered as a separate constellation by the Romans because the Equinox (the time of year when days and nights are of equal length, that is balanced) occured in Libra. 22. Orion The Great Hunter The death of Orion remains a controversy in mythology. One story is based on the position of Orion in the sky relative to Scorpius. It was said that Orion boasted that he was capable of overcoming any obstacle - man or beast - where upon a scorpion came out and stung him. Thus, as Scorpion rises, Orion falls. 23. Ophiuchus The Serpent Holder 24. Pegasus The Winged Horse This wonderous horse emerged from drops of blood which fell from Medura's severed head. Pegasus was cought and tamed by Minerva, a goddess of the time. Pegasus was presented to the Mures who served to provide inspiration for artists and poets. Many heros and warriers rode Pegasus into and out of battle, while others rode Pegasus to their death. 25. Perseus The Hero The son of Jupiter and Danae sent to slay Medusa, the creature who had once been a beautiful maiden. (Medusa had teeth of fangs and hair of serpents.) Perseus was instructed not to look directly at Medusa, otherwise he would turn to stone. Perseus was given a shield for protection and a pair of winged sandals by Minerva to speed him on his journey. Perseus easily slayed Medusa by severing its head while it slept. Perseus gave the head to Minerva who affixed it to the center of her shield. 26. Pisces The Fishes It was said that in order to escape from a land-bound monster, the goddess Venus and her son Cupid transformed themselves into fish. 27. Pleiades Daughters of Atlas, these nymphs were pursued by Orion. However, Jupiter came to them first and transformed them into pigeons and then stars. Legend has it that there were seven daughters, but as many as nine or 11 have been seen. 28. Sagittarius The Archer Known for cunning and wisdom, the archer represents the centaurs of mythology. They were learned in the arts and mentors of the gods. Aesculapius is the name of the centaur represented in Sagittarius. He was the son of Apollo and a pupil of Chiron. He became a great physician, so successful at saving lives that Jupiter had to slay him. The snake, sacred to Aesculapius, is now a symbol of health (because of its apparent periodic removal of skin as a renewal of life). 29. Scorpius The Scorpion The scorpion sent by the god Juno to kill Orion by stinging him in the foot. 30. Serpens The Serpent 31. Taurus The Bull One bull mentioned in mythology, was that of Hercules' seventh labor. Hercules was to capture and bring to Eurystheus the Cretan Bull. He managed to do this, but the bull escaped and made its way to Marathon. Another bull mentioned in mythology was the white bull into which the god Zeus transformed himself when he abducted the Crete. 32. Ursa Major The Greater Bear (Big Dipper) Callisto was punished by Jupiter for being jealous of Juno. As punishment she was transformed into a bear. She was constantly hunted and this lived in terror. One day, a hunter named Arcas approached Callisto and was about to spear her. Just then, Jupiter changed Arcas into a bear to prevent Callisto's death. This upset Juno who asked the gods of the sea to prevent Arcus from ever entering the water. Thus, Ursa Major (Callisto) and Ursa Minor (Arcus) remain in the northern sky and never set. 33. Ursa Minor The Lesser Bear (Little Dipper) In mythology, the hunter Arcus was transformed into a bear by Jupiter to prevent Callisto's (Ursa Major) death. 34. Virgo The Virgin Said to have been the goddess of justice, Astraea. ____________________________________________ 2. TECHNICAL DATA The data on the following pages may be useful to the observer insofar as the area (in square degrees), distance from our Sun (in light years) and visual magnitude of each constellation provide the basis with which to further study the constellations. The magnitudes are given in standard units with lower values (e.g. 1.00 or in the case of extremely bright stars, negative values) representing a star whose magnitude is of sufficient brightness to be seen without optical aid and high values (e.g. 10.00) representing a star which requires optical aids to be seen. For comparison, the Sun has a visible magnitude of -26.7. The brightest stars in the sky (next to the Sun) are Vega (magnitude = 0.04) and Arcturus (magnitude = -0.06) and Sirius (magnitude = -1.45). ____________________________________________ Technical Data Constellation Area Distance Mag (in sq. deg) (in l.y.) ___________________________________________ Andromeda(1) 722 76 - 260 2.02 Aquarius 980 84 - 1080 2.86 Aquila 652 16 - 340 0.77 Aries 441 52 - 76 2.00 Auriga 657 45 - 3400 0.05 Bootes(2) 907 32 - 140 -0.06 Canis Major(3) 380 9 - 3400 -1.45 Capricornus 414 50 - 130 n/a Cassiopeia 598 18 - 520 2.13 Cephus(4) 588 46 - 1300 2.44 Cetus 1231 12 - 130 2.00 Coma Berenices 386 Corona Borealis 179 76 2.33 Cyngus 804 74 - 1600 1.26 Draco 1038 76 - 620 2.21 Gemini 514 35 - 1080 1.16 Hercules 1225 30 - 410 2.78 Hydra 1303 84 - 220 1.98 Leo 947 43 - 340 1.36 Libra 538 58 - 140 2.61 Ophiuchus 948 58 - 520 2.09 Orion 594 26 - 2100 0.14 Pegasus 1121 109 - 780 2.31 Perseus 615 105 - 1000 1.80 Pisces 889 Sagittarius 867 71 - 590 1.81 Scorpius 497 66 - 3400 0.92 Serpens 637 60 - 71 2.65 Taurus 797 68 - 940 0.86 Ursa Major 1280 49 - 1300 1.79 Ursa Minor(5) 256 105 - 680 1.99 Vega(6) 26 0.04 Virgo 1294 32 - 220 0.91 ____________________________________________ Notes: 1. Actually represents a much further galaxy located 2 million light years from earth. 2. Contains the star Arcturus. With a magnitude of -0.06, this star is one of the brightest stars north of the equator. 3. This constellation contains the star Sirius, the brightest star in the Winter sky. 4. The triangle portion of Cephus is located some 1300 l.y. from earth. The triangle is composed of stars known as cepheids. Cepheids are pulsating stars which alternately expand and contract rhythmically resulting in a change in light magnitude of 100% or more. 5. At the tip of Ursa Minor is a star named Mira Ceta, known as the north star or polaris. It is one of the largest known stars having a diameter of 300 million miles (Our sun's diameter is 864 thousand miles). 6. Vega is located in the constellation Lyra. This table indicates the month and direction for each of the constellations displayed by PC Starmap. Month is coded by a number (1-12) and direction by a letter (n,s,e,or w). Use this table as a quick reference to locate favorite constellations. ____________________________________________ Constellation Month and Direction Codes ____________________________________________ Andromeda 1w 2w 8e 9e 10e 12w Aquarius 7e 8e 10s 11s-w 12w Aquila 6e 8e 9s 10w 11w Aries 1w 3w 11s-e 12s Auriga 3w 11e 12e Bootes 3e 4e 5e 7w 8w 9w Cancer 1e 2e 3s 4w 6w 12e Canis Major 1s 2s 3s 4w 12e Capricornus 7e 8s 9s 10s 11w Cassiopeia 1-12n Cephus 6-12n Cetus 1w 2w 9e 10e 11s 12s Coma Berenices 2e 3e 4e 5s 6w 7w 8w Corona Borealis 3e 4e 5e 6s-e 7s-w 8w 9w 10w Cyngus 6e 7e 8e 10w 11w 12w Draco 1-12n Gemini 1e 2s 3-6w 11e 12e Hercules 4e 5e 6e 8w 9w 10w Hydra 1e 2e 3s 4s 5s-w 6s-w Leo 1e 2e 3e 4s 5s-w 6w 7w Libra 4e 5s 6s 7s 8w Ophiuchus 5e 6e 7s 8s 9w 10w Orion 1s 2s 3w 4w 11e 12e Pegasus 1w 2w 7-9e 10s 11s-w 12w Perseus 11e Pisces 1w 2w 8-9e 10s-e 11s 12s-w Pleiades 9e 10e 11e 12s-e Sagittarius 7s 8s 9s Scorpius 6s 7s 8s Serpens 5e 6s-e 7s 8s-w 9w 10w Taurus 1s 2-4w 10e 11e 12s-e Ursa Major 1-12n Ursa Minor 1-12n Vega 5-7e 9-11w 12n Virgo 3e 4s 5s 6s 7w 8w ____________________________________________ MDC SOFTWARE 1920 SWALLOW LANE CARLSBAD, CA. 92008 619-931-9825